The Sun. — London, England, 1864-01-07 00:00:00

THE UNITED STATES. (Froin the Times Correspondent.) NEW YORK, Dec. 22. The assessors from all parts of the country held by the National Government have been again in session to counsel the Secretary of the Treasury and the Finance Committees of the two Houses of Con gress on the necessary changes in the Internal Re venue Bill, to make it as productive as originally estimated. The proposed amendments are nume rous ; and these gentlemen further advise, in order to secure uniformity of practice and construction, that the bill shall be entirely rewritten and codified. Some of the proposed taxes will strike Englishmen who are not old enough to remember the taxation of the wars of Napoleon as very curious, not to say harsh. Iron nails, screws, castings, forging, rivets, rolled copper, ingots, pigs and bars, soft soap, all manufactures of leather, all oils, all materials used in shipbuilding, the clothes made at your tailor's, the repairs to the same clothes which you have made if war prices force you to be economical, the teeth with which the dentist fills the gap that unkind natare has ma de, the cream and water ice with which the confectioner softens the miseries of an American summer, bricks, cement, books (except Bibles), umbrella stretchers, crinoline, and root beer, are collected together into an omnibus ad valorem bill, which cells on all citizens of the Republic to pay tax for their good government on everything they use or wear except the air and sunlight of heaven. Congress does not look upon this outside attempt at legislation with unqualified favour, and I fancy that, in spite of the wishes of Government, there will be no change made in . the law till after the Christmas holidays. Another measure which the Administration was equally anxious to have acted upon at once, the Enlistment Act, will probably go over the recess, owing to a difference of opinion as to the changes to be made. The friends of the South—open and secret —urge the radical change of making every man liable within the specified age, without power of furnishing a substitute or of commutation. While the supporters of the Administration are strong enough to put down any such amendment as this, they are by no means agreed among themselves as to what is best. Some wish to abolish the commuta tion clause, others to consolidate the various classes of rolls, and it is by no means certain what shape the differing opinions will take. Meanwhile the effect of delay will probably be the postponement of the draught, which had been fixed for Jsn. 5. The TVorld of this morning furnishes a table showing the number of votes that will be requisite under the President's Proclamation, to enable the "rebel" States to return to the Union—the Procla mation requiring a registration of but one•tenth of the number of voters in 1860 ; Vote in 18'0. No. required. Alabama Arkansas.. Florida Georgia Louisiana 69,120 6,912 Tennessee North Carolina .. Texas " Virginia and South Carolina," it says, " are not included in this list, bec "'use the former is not men. tioned in the proclamation, and the latter never casts Presidential votes." This newspaper, and the political element it represents, are opposed to the proclamation as requiring of the Southerners a month which will exclude msny who would otherwise be glad to return, yet concedes the almost certainty of the early return of the States of Louisiana, Ar kansas, and Tennessee ; and the probability of the return of Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama in the spring, should there be further military successes with General Banks and at Mobile. It cannot be denied that the formation and maintenance of State Governments in the capitals of these States, on an anti-slavery basis, and a continual participation by any considerable number of their population in the legislation at Washington, will have a damaging effect upon the Southern cause, and we cannot be surprised if the experiment is regarded with some apprehension at Richmond. On the other hand the pretences of the abolition papers that the procla mation has any effect upon the armies of Lee and Bragg, I believe to be entirely without foundation. I do not believe that they have lost, or are likely to lose, a single man from this cause. The Southern line of the electric telegraph made a great sensation in town yesterday, by announcing from Richmond that on the 18th inst. the armour plated Ironsides and three Monitors, while attempt ing to pass the obstructions in Charleston harbour had become entangled, and that the Monitors had become disabled and the Ironsides would probably have to be abandoned. This intelligence is not cre dited here. Oa ly last week we had from the same source news of the destruction of the gunboat Day light, while this morning we learn that there was no truth in the report. Probably before this letter reaches you, telegraphic intelligence, either confir matory or explanatory of the Richmond bulletin, will reach you. If the news is true, it is very dis astrous to the Federals, for it is understood that the Confederates have ironclads at Charleston waiting the proper moment to come out and break the block ade. The favour with which the Monitors are re garded by the Navy Department is not shared by naval officers. Congress has called for the publica tion of all the reports of their behaviour in action, and we shall soon know the whole story. Mean while we have in the documents accompanying the report of the Secretary an instalment of what we may expect when the whole truth about these ves• eels is known. The New York Times of this more ing publishes an extract from the report of each commanding officer of a Monitor at the action in Charleston harbour. These extracts are very curi ous, and well worth attention. Before quoting from them, however, let me say en passant that I had it from a gentleman, who was in Sumter at the time, that no damage was done to it by any shot from these vessels. Capt, Drayton, in command of the 1 ) 48E01C, says "At the fourth shot from the 11-inch gun I was struck in quick succession in the lower part of the turret by two heavy shot, which bulged in its plates and beams, and, forcing togetner the rails on which the 11-inch carriage worked, rendered it wholly useless for the remainder of the action, several hours being neces?ary to put it in working order. Soon afterwards it was discovered that there was something the matter with the turret itself, which could tot be moved ; and on examination it was found that a part of the brass ring underneath it had been broken off, and being forced inboard had jammed. On closing this the turret could again be moved, but for some time irregularly. A little after a rifle shot struck the upper edge of the tur ret, broke all of its eleven plates, and then, glancing up ward, took the pilot-house, yet with such force as to make an indentation of two and a half inches, extending nearly the whole length of the shot. The bl ow was so severe as to considerably smash in the pilot-house, bend it over, open the plates, and squeeze out the top; so that on one side it was lifted up three inches above the top on which it rested exposing the inside of the pilot-house, and rendering it likely that the next shot would take off the ton itself entirely," Capta i n Rodgers, cf the Weehawken, says that the deck of that vessel " was pierced so as to make a hole through which water ran into the vessel; 38 bolts were broken in the turret and a good many in the pilot-house." Captain Wooden " experienced serious embarrassment in manceavring (the Mon tauk) in the narrow and uncertain Channel, with the limited means of -observation afforded from the pilot-house," and "is led to believe that Charleston cannot be taken by the naval force now present, and that had the atta:qc been continued it could not have failed to have resulted in disaster." Captain Ammen. of the Patapaco, thinks " a want of vision one of the most serious objections to vessels of this class, making it imprsssible to fight them advanta geous!y," and that " if it is proposed to batter down forts with a 15 inch gun, then it is quite plain that we have to come within distances at which heavy ordnances, if employed in heavy batteries against us, cannot fail in the end to inure and perhaps dis able us." Captain Rodgers, of the Catskill, " was surprised to find, even with this severe fire, that these vessels could be so much injured in so short a time." Commander Fairfax, of the Nantucket, is " convinced that although this class of vessels can stand la very heavy fire, yet the want of more guns will render them c,impara:i7Ay hsrmiea Erfo:e for mid tbla earth works an d fot ts ;" and "is disap pot:, ted, beyond measure, at this enperimeat of Monitors oTercotring strong forts ;" and Cap t ain Downes, of the Nahant, after detailing at length the accidents to his vessel, says " it is my opinion that four more such shots as it received would have de molished it." We might conclude from this mass of concurrent testimony that the Monitors were humbugs, if they had not since been under fire from the same batteries without irjnry, and if the cap ture of the armour-plated Atalanta were a piece of unwritten history. As it is we must wait for the further revelations from the archives of the Navy Department which the Congress has called for. The same department is also experimenting upon the use of petroleum as fuel for generating steam, and the result is represented by the newspapers as satisfactory, but I have had no opportunity of mak ing inquiries on the subject. The news of the violent release of the captured crew of the Chesapeake at Halifax is received in the most good-natured manner in New York as ata offset on British soil to the riots in July last. The opportunity for the retort has not been lost in any of the newspapers. In looking over what I have written about Congress I see that I have failed to notice that the House has sanctioned the payment of the present great bounties for enlistment, thus endorsing the policy by which the Administration seek to avoid a draught. It has also by a very large majority (many border State members voting with the majo rity) authorised the continuance of the enlistment of negro troops, so that this incisive measure may now be regarded as the settled policy of the Go vernment. It can hardly be doubted that results fatal to the Confederates must flow from it. Derbyshire County Sessions, Jan, 5, THE RESPITE OF TOWNLEY. Mr. J. G. CROMPTON rose to ask Mr. Mundy, M.P., whether he, as chairman of the visiting jus tices of the Derby County Gaol, had had his atten- tion called to certain circumstances which had re cently taken place within its precincts, and whether he was aware that a certain commission, composed of borough magistrates, had sat for the purpose of inquiring into the state of mind of the convict Townley ? He believed that the report of that commission had led to an event which was deeply deplored throughout the country, and he quoted an authoritative paragraph from the newspapers of last Thursday in support of his assertion, that the certificate signed by those justices had materially influenced Sir George Grey in his decision. He would not say that it had been entirely instrumental in obtaining the escape of Townley, because it was well known that another and higher commission had sat, with a view to ascertain the state of mind of this anhappy man, but it evidently had had an effect. He noticed in another paper usually sup posed to be the Ministerial organ, an article evi dently writte❑ for the purpose of exculpating the Home Secretary, and stating that the respite of Tnwnley was a purely administrative act, and that he only acted according to the directions of the jus tices who signed the certificate of lunacy. This had led to a result which, as he had before said, was deeply to be deplored. The Act of Parliament had been made use of by those interested in the de fence of Townley to introduce into gaol a commis sion, formed of certain justices who had previously formed:and expressed an opinion upon the case which they were to investigate, and he . need not say that it was highly important to the community that such investigations should be conducted by persons who arepeifectly unbiassed, He found that these magistrates had previously, one and all, signed a memorial stating it to be their opinion that the convict was insane, and praying Sir George Grey to send a commission to inquire into the state of his mind. These were the gentlemen who were called in to give the country an unbiassed opinion upon a case of this importance. Two medical men had assisted them in arriving at this opinion. One of them is the partner of another medical gentie man in Derby who gave most powerful evidence in favour of the prisoner, and who holds the office of surgeon to the gaol, and who himself had previously signed this petition. With regard to the other sur geon it would be only necessary to remark that he, too, had signed the same document. In such a case as this the public are entitled to be made thoroughly acquainted with all the facts of the case, and they have a right to demand that such a commission should be properly selected. It ought to have gone through its proper channel—that of the visiting justices. (Hear, hear.) He greatly feared that this deviation from the proper course had led to a signal failure of justice—(hear, hear)—and he believed that it was generally considered that this was ac tually the case. It gave just grounds for a suspicion on the part of the general public that the rich man does not reap the same punishment for his crimes as the poor man does, and that such an idea should gain ground was much to be lamented. (Hear, hear.) He thought that any act which they, as a body of magistrates, could do in order to manifest their disapproval of the present very unsatisfactory state of things ought to be done. A murder had been committed, and the murderer had been tried in open court, found guilty, and sentenced to death. The jury, by their verdict, declared themselves sa tisfied with the evidence as to the prisoner's respon sibility, the judge declared himself satisfied with that verdict, and after all that a secret tribunal was sent down to the Home-office to report as to the prisoner's sanity. He called the attention of the Court to a remonstrance which had been framed, which the Clerk of the Peace would read. Mr. BARBER then read as follows : To THE RIGHT HON. SIR GEORGE GREY, M.P., HER MAJESTY'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOB, THE HOME DEPARTMENT. Derby, Jan. 5, Sir,—We, the undersigned magistrates of the county of Derby, beg to represent to you that, in our judgment, shared largely by the public, the circumstances under which Geo. Victor Townley (who at the late assizes for this county was convicted of and condemned for the murder of Miss Good win) has been respited, on the allegation of his insanity, ought to be fully and publicly inquired into. It appears by his own undisputed voluntary statement immediately after the murder that ho committed the act deliberately, with full knowledge that he was thereby vio lating the law, and teat he had rendered himself liable to be, and expected to be, capitally punished ; he declared to Captain Goodwin that the woman who deceived him must die ; he alleged that Miss Goodwin had deceived him and he put her to death. It was not the blind and furious impulse of a madman, but a deliberate act, which manifested the exercise of reason in his endeavour to prevail with Miss Goodwin, but, failing in his object, the spirit of revenge, which was satiated by her death. His family treated him as sane. Neither the surgeon nor the governor of the gaol reported him to be insane, as it was their duty to do if they had so considered him. The learned Judge stated that if the defence of insanity set up for him at the trial was to prevail it would be danger ous to society. It is alleged that he has since become insane. A commis. sion was sent down by you to inquire into his sanity; sub sequently to the inquiry by those commissioners the pri soner's professional adviser caused another inquiry to be made by two magistrates, aided by two medical men. the value of that inquiry can only be estimated by a full and open investigation into its origin and conduct. This appears to u 3 to be called for. The result of these private proceedings has been a respite of the prisoner and an order for his removal to a lunatic asylum. The effect has been to cause much dissatisfaction, Co create a feeling greatly to be lamented—that there is one law for the rich, and another for the poor; that justice has been turned aside by the power of money; and that if Townley and his friends had been poor he would have been executed, as a man named Thorley was in this county last year, for a murder under like circumstances. The inquiry by the commissioners is open to grave ob- jections. It is one-sided. Townley's professional advisers and friends have acted with all the energy and effort which money produces. The prosecution has not been heard, nor the public interest adequatti,ly represented in the inquiry. It was private. The witnesses were, we believe, not sworn. No opp tunity was afforded to the prosecution of cross-examining them, and they knew it would be eo; nor of contradicting . . or explaining their testimony or opinion by other evidence. In this and other like cases the prisoner has bees tried by a judge and jury, acting under the sanction of on oath, aided by counsel employed cn both sides, witnesses exa mined and cross-examined, all in open court, We think that respect for trial by jury, and confidence in the pure administration of justice, will be seriously weakened if a verdict and sentence following such a fair and solemn trial may, in this or any other criminal case, be interfered with by any inquiry less public and complete than the trial it• self. We therefore most respectfully trust, also most earnestly urge upon you, the necessity and propriety of abstaining to act upon this private and ex-parte information, and of taus ing a full inquiry to be made hato the matters referred to by some responsible authority, and in as public, fair, and com- THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 7, 1864, plete a manner as criminal trials are conducted.—We have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servants." (Signed by upwards of 40 magistrates.) Mr. MUNDY said that he was glad that Mr. Crompton had given him an opportunity of explain ing the part he had taken in this matter. The visiting justices felt aggrieved, and much surprised that they were not informed by the surgeon of the gaol when he changed his mind upon the subject of the prisoner Townley's sanity or insanity, he having given evidence that he considered the prisoner to be insane, although he had previously given opinion that he was perfectly sane. The jus tices had caused a minute to be entered to that effect, As chairman of the visiting justices, he had been applied to by Townley's,friends to allow them to see him, and he could not refuse so natural a re- quest. On the day after Christmas-day he received a request from the prisoner's solicitor to allow cer tain persons to examine him, with a view to induce the Home-office to send down a Commission in Lunacy. Upon returning, after a short absence, he was surprised to find that that commission had already arrived, so that Mr. Sims very properly re fused to allow any other interview until those investigations were concluded. They had every opportunity of making those investigations afforded to them, and of satisfying themselves as to his con- dition. After this it would seem that the visit o the other justices was uncalled for and unnecessary, but nevertheless they did see him. On Tuesday the prisoner's solicitor came to the gaol to ask permis- sion for the other commission to see the prisoner, end Mr. Sims referred him to the chairman (Mr. Evans), and leave was granted. It seemed to him (Mr. Mundy) that his visit was entirely a work of supererogation, and, after the report of the other commission, it appeared perfectly unnecessary for any local gentlemen to have any interviews with the prisoner, the regularly formed commission having superior authority. (Hear, hear.) The CHAIRMAN said there was a doubt whether the power of giving a certificate was in the county or the boroug}a justices, and, therefore, both had been represented. Dr. HEEGATE, M.D., F.R.S., said as this painful case had been brought before the Court, he felt it his duty to say that never during the whole course of his life had he known a case in which the plea of insanity had been set up or main tained on such flimsy pretexts. There was no doubt that the power of giving a certificate lay with the visiting justices, and not the borough justices. A more monstrous thing he never knew in his life than the way in which justice had been caused to mis carry throughout the whole case. Mr. CROMPTON said of course the solicitor of the prisoner was justified in taking such steps in the interest of his client as seemed good to him, and no blame attached to him; but it seemed that the borough justices had been made use of in order to violate the spirit of the Act the 3d and 4th of Vic toria, cap. 54, an Act which had been carried out in Derby before by responsible persons. In this case the solicitor for the defence had introduced into the gaol a commission composed of persons who had every one committed themselves to an opinion by signing a document in which that opinion was ex pressed. He considered that such a procedure was unfair, not only to the public but to Sir G. Grey, who formed his conclusions from it. Let the public be satisfied that the man was insane, for at present he was considered to be sane. (Hear, hear.) Mr. T. 0. BATEMAN wished to know whether the gaol was in the county or the borough. He thought that the borough justices were right in interfering if the gaol was in the bcrough. Mr. R. B. BARROW thought Mr. Crompton's re marks were much too strong. He could not believe that money could weigh at all in such a case. As to the Home Secretary's power, if a certificate of insanity went to him, signed by two justices, he was bound to respite the prisoner. Mr. CROMPTON said that the prisoner was repre• sented by an active and able solicitor, but who re presented the public ? A pressure had been put upon the jnry, which was, to say the least, unfair to the interests of society. They were worked upon by being told that they had satisfied justice by their verdict, but that the prerogative of mercy was theirs, and it was hard to refuse to sign a memorial when put to them in such a manner. He did not hesitate to say that the public was injured by these . secret tribune s. The case had been most amply investigated in open court, with the advantage of counsel on both sides, but the after evidence had been given without any person being present to re present the prosecution and to cross-examine those witnesses. If the Home Seceetary was to be influ enced by a tribunal, let it at least be a proper one. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BATEMAN—It was stated i❑ the papers that the magistrates who signed the certificate were Mr. Roe, the Mayor of Derby, Mr. Cox, and Mr. For man. Mr. CROMPTON—I name no names; I merely say that as for Townley, money has saved him, and I move that the remonstrance be adopted. (Hear.) Mr. It. W. M. NESFIELD—I second that, al though it might have been made a little stronger, showing from the evidence that the murderer had duly exercised his reason. Mr. Nesfield pointed out the facts to which he alluded, and concluded—My own opinion is, that if Townley is let off, then Thor ley was judicially murdered. (Hear, hear.) Tno CHAIRMAN put the question whether the remonstrance be adopted, and it was carried unani mously. THE BRIGHTON BOATMAN. The Brighton boatman whose type I would pro sent has generally served 17 months, neither more nor less, in the Royal Navy. How and why he entered, under what circumstances quitted, and what exploits he performed in that service are, to gether with the precise name of his ship, points en veloped in mystery. He has a wife and nine small children, who never grow any bigger, possibly be cause of the insufficient nutriment obtained from skate, winkles, and starfish, on which, if the family father is to be believed, they principally subsist. He has neither baptismal nor family name, in proof of which rather startling fact I may mention that my five most intimate friends were known respectively as " Tim," "Jarsper," "The Shepherd," " Streaky," and "Bobs," all titles conferred on them by their fraternity. I had entertained some doubts on the subject of Bobs, till reassured by that gentleman's emphatic declaration that it " warn't his name least ways, not as he know'd on," though he never an swered to any other. I took some pains to discover the secret principle which governed beach nomen clature. AU, however, that I could ascertain was, that Tim was so called because he had espoused a Mrs. Juniper; the Shepherd, for so much as, many years ago, a gentleman had pre sented him with an aged vest of the plaid, bearing that pastoral name ; and Streaky, seeing that he had beguiled a part of his 17 months' naval service by tattooing himself, like a savage, from head to foot. " Jarsper" and " Bubs," being pure fancy names, defied investigation. The Brighton boatman has two especial forms of invitation. The fair weather : " Take a retch (reach) off, sir Fine breeze." An unconscious warning, which must have recurred with painful distinctness to many a pallid citizen, receding from the steadfast shore. The foul weather " Seen that 'ere curious fish what our boats brought in o' Toosday, slr ? Tuppence." Boats—in the plural—to suggest the idea of one having proved inadequate to the towage of the struggling monster ashore. The animal—need I ado?—turns out to be a dogfish, some 24 in. in length, and about as interesting to coast frequenters as a whiting. The Brighton boatman is never known to beg ; for, although mendicancy is with him a con firmed habit, it is simply argumentative, based, as it were, completely on hypothesis. " Sposen any germAn will give me two shillen towards a new mainsle, I'd do a good job among they mackarel boats next year, sir." " Happen some gel'man 'ood rise 'alf-a-crown, I'd—" Sc. It is difficult to resist a perpetual suggestion. Hence, it was only when I discovered that "rising" half-a-crown meant, in reality, Finking that amount in the hope less slough of Mr. Bub's pocket that I filally har dened into atone.—All the Year Round. Amidst a throng of nobles, and beauties, and men of fashion, were Carlyle, and Macaulay—Hallam, with his venerable head—and Charlotte 13ronte, whose own fame was just at its height, and who saw in the lec turer her ideal of an elevated and high-minded master of literary art. The lectures were tho roughly appreciated. Everybody was delighted to see the great masters of English of a past age brought to life again in their habits as they lived, and endowed with the warm human reality of the lecturer's Dobbinses, and War ringtons, and Pend ennises. It is a pity that Thackeray did not write expressely on America, for we think that he would have written the most impartial English book to which that country has yet given rise. When he returned from his first visit ,he was a good deal away from town. " Since my return from America," he writes in August, 1854, "I have hardly been in London at all, and when here, in such a skurry of business and pleasure as never to call a day my own scarcely." The passage is significant. Few lives were more engrossed than his, discharging, as he did, at once the duties of a man of letters and a man of fashion. He dined out a great deal during the season. He went to the theatres. He be longed to three clubs—the Athenwum, Reform, and Gar rick, to say nothing of minor associations for the promotion of good fellowship. With less of this wear and tear we should have had more work from him—should have had, perhaps, the history which long dwelt in his imagination as one of the creations of the future. As it is, he achieved a great deal during the last eight or ten years of his life. Two such elaborate novels as the " Newcomes" and the " Virginians," a second trip to America, and a ramble over Great Britain—with a new set of lectures on the " Four Georges"—not to mention a contested election, and what he did for the Comilla, established on the strength of his name, and for a long time directly conducted by him— these were great doings for a man who, though naturally robust, was plagued and morticed by more than one disor der of long continuance. And he did them greatly— going into the world gaily and busily to the last; and always finding time for such holy little offices of personal kindness and charity as gave him, we believe and know, more real pleasure than all his large share of the world's applause. Latterly, he had built himself a handsome house in Kensington, to which he moved from Onslow-square, Brompton—his residence after leaving the Young-street in which he wrote "Vanity Fair." It was a dwelling worthy of one who really represented literature in the great world, and who, planting himself on his books, yet sustained the character of his profession with all the dignity of a gentle man. A friend who called on him there from Edinburgh, in the summer of 1862, playfully reminded him what Horace says of those who, regardless of their sepulchre, employ themselves in building houses— " Sepulchri Immemor, struis domos." " Nay," said he, " I am memor sepulehri, for this house will always let for so many hundreds (mentioning the sum) a year." How distant, then, seemed the event which has just happened, and with which the mind obstinately refuses to familiarise itself though it stares at one from a thousand broadsheets. Well, indeed, might his passing bell make itself heard through all the myriad joy bells of the English Christmas. It is long since England has lost such a son; it will be long before she has such another to lose. The Late Fight Between King and Heenan, JOURNALS, the means of achieving their own independence. He invited them to help themselves. and he indicated the means they had of doing so. Nor did he hesitate to enforce his argument by a comparison which would only a few years ago have been very unfavourably received in the rural districts. In Scotland and in France the labouring classes were, he said, more thrifty and provident than they were in this coun try, although, as regarded the French, their wages were 20 to 30 per cent. cent less than here. Mr. Gladstone minutely explained the character and the object of the Post-office snvings banks, dwelling forcibly on the advantages they presented to the working man who was disposed to be economical, and emphatically replying to the objection that had been made to them, and which we noticed at the time, that the depositors were not protected by secresy. The Chancellor now states that this is a binding obligation on the part of the postmaster, and that any violation of it will be visited with censure, and, if repeated, with dismissal. He added, and our own information confirms his opinion, that he did not believe the old saving banks were over particular about the secresy the depositors naturally desired. Three thousand of he Post-office banks have been opened, and nearly five millions of money have been already deposited in them. This, there fore, is at all events a good beginning, and one on which Mr. Gladstone is particularly entitled to speak in terms of congratulation. As he truly said, Parliament cannot supply a frugal disposition ; the Government is not able to compel people to be pro vident ; but in opening the way to that end,. wfricla has been done in the establishment of these banks, the State has recognised its duty in the matter. The rest must come, as come it will, through education —through the agency of reading-rooms such as that in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer appropriately introduced the subject of banking for the people—and the more working men are taught to rely on themselves, on their own energies, and on their resources, the better it will be for them. They may not tee this immediately, though many of them do; but in the long run they will all, more or less, be brought to acknowledge that it is not in poli'ical reforms, nor in philanthropic associations, but within themselves—in their own honest hearts and strong arms—that their real ability to rise in the social scale is to be found. COUNTRY MARKETS. LYNN-TUESDAY. The weather is now clear and frosty. At to-day's mar ket there was a fair show of wheat, with a ready sale, and the prices of last week advanced is per qr. Malting bar ley is higher, and grinding descriptions sold better. Beane and peas were about supported. White 45s to 46s / Barley . ... Itcd .. Beans .43s to 44s I Oats.. New 388 to 408 I Peas .. —s to MELTON MOWBRAY-TUESDAY. The following were the currencies :—New white wheat, 42s Od to 45s Od; new red, 38s Od to 42s per 36 stone; beans, 38s to 41s for old ; new sorts, 34s to 36s per 38 at. ; barley, 36s to 39s for malting, and 28s to 30s per qr. for grinding; new oats, lbs . _ to 23s Od per 24 stone; old, 25a to 275. HULL-T UESDAY. At this day's market the show of English wheat was rather short, with a ready sale, and late rates advanced is. Foreign was quite as dear, and also a ready sale. Barley scarce, and grinding is lower. Oats in fair demand, and maintained late rates. Beans very little changed. Peas 6d to is lower. Wheat.... Old white.... per qr. Old red Neu white .. „ New red .... „ Barley.... English malting 32s Od to 36s Od Grinding 24s Od to 26s 6d Saal and Oderbruck Holstein and Danish 3OB Od to 31s Od Grinding Oats English, old 22s Od to 24s 0i; Archangel and Riga, per st osl2ld to 13d Friesland and Dutch osl3d to ogno Swedish and Danish osl2tel to 031gd Beans ....English, old, per qr. 4os Oil to 43s Od New pigeon 42s Od :,o 44s ud New tick Egyptian Peas Foreign boilers .. 32s Od t‘. 34, Od Grinding Tares ....Spiing . Indian Corn Linseed, feeding crushing Linseed cakes (Hull) S9 5 0 to SO 0 0 Foreign Bl5 oto 9 0 0 Rape cakes 6 0 oto 0 0 0 Bones .. 5 6 oto 510 0 MARK ET. t the dose of the iiitake: COAL "'noes of Coal per Ton a, s. d. West Hartley 18 9 Hastings Hartley lB 9 K elloe ...........21 6 Walls End Ships at marl :et, 6; sold. 6. Foreign Mail Packet List. d. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton . . Jan. 18. via Marseilles Jan I`2. 3razil and Cape- Verds, by British paeot. Feb. 3 Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena. Jan. 29. k;hinit, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. Jan. 13. via Marseilles Jan. 2 4 Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton .. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton, Jan. 13, via Marseilles Jan. 10. India (Bombay), via Southampton Jan. 11.., via Marseilles Jan. -- 4 Portugal.... Jan 11. Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Jan. 10. via Marseilles Jan. 11 Newfoundland .. Oporto and Vigo U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. piacket.... Jan. 14. by U.S. packet.... by Canadian packet.. Jan 8. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneritfe Jan. 10. Bahamas, via New York ....Jan. 14. Mexico.. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, 1 Jan. 23 California. and British Columbia.. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills:" Given to Save.—The curative powers of these noble mect caments have been tested by the experience and practice of the profession and public, both at home and abroad, for the third of a century. Holloway's Ointment and Pills hays worked their way to fame against vested interests, and have established a name for curing sores, wound, ulcers. scrotnlk and skin diseases, which no other discovery can boast. All affections of muscles, guiders, joints, and glands, may b't/ essentially benefited by the use of the purifying remedies' Those strumuous constitutions,which are old in their youth , and doomed to die in middle age, ate earnestly invited to study the " instructions" accompanying Holloway's pre parations, and to use them accordingly. ADVERTISEMENT.j—Avoid medicines: they always airgrs vete chronic complaints, but Du Barry's Delicious Ilealtp Restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, which saves fifty time its cost in other remedies, invariably cures them, restortnir perfect digestion, strong nerves, sound lungs, healthy pure blood, refreshing sleep, functional regularity, and enemy i to the most disordered or enfeebled. We extract a few 0 8 ' of 60,0u0 Cures :—Cure No. 58,216 of the Marchioness d e Brehan, Paris, of a liver complaint, wasting away for seye. years, debility, with a nervous pa l pitation all over , becl , digestion, constant sleeplessness, the most intolerable nery oui agitation, and dreadfully low spirited.—Cure No. 1,771. Lor d Stuart de Decies, Lord Lieut. of Waterford, of many year? dyspepsia.—No. 49,832. "Fifty years' indescribable &101 l from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough. constipatio li J flatulen,y, spasms, sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Jotly•_, —Cure No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey , °) thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derange: ment, and partial deafness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss ElizabetviP Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion , gatherbgs,lo spirits. and nervous I swim—Cure No. 54,516. The Rev. JO T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, " of indigestion and tore, dity of the liver, which had resiste all medical treatmcv t.' In tins, 1 lb., Is. 9d.; 21b., 4s. 6d ; Mb., 11s. ; £2lb., 425. ; 41t) 40s.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, Londo n; also Fortnum and Mason ; and all Grocers and Chemists every town of the United Kingdom. Births. CHATMAN.—On the sth inst., at High Cross Parsonor i t i Ware, the wife of the Rev. W. Hay Chapman , °' son. CHRISTIE.—On the sth inst., at Glyndebourne, Suss e%. the wife of W. L. Christie, Esq., of a son. DENNY.—On the sth inst., at 3, Hanover-park, reekhopf Surrey, the wife of W. F. Denny, Esq., of a d a ughter' JAEGER.—On the sth inst., at Esk• grove, Effra.roadl gt A. L. Jaeger, of a daughter. Marriages. GIBBS—ELToN.—On the sth inst., at All Saints', Ole don, Somerset, George Louis Monck, eldest son of Rev. Joseph Gibbs, of Clifton Hampden, Oxon, to Le'r o f Beatrice, elder daughter of Sir Arthur Elton, Bert' , Clevedon Court. LLOYD—VISGER. — On the sth inst., at Frenchay, 151 ,, °1j 0i cestershire, Francis T. Lloyd, Lieut. R. 2 1., second 0°,,,'"01 Edward J. Lloyd, Q.C., to Julia Louisa Georgian e, daughter of Harman Visger, Esq., of Frenchay. Deaths. BEETSON.—On the 2d inst. , at Southsea , George Bee tO ll Eeq., late Superintending Surgeon, Madras Array'. o f , CHAPMAN.—On the 6th inst., Edward Chapman, of folk-street, Islington, aged 78. 0 0 MITCHELL.—On the sth inst., at Islington, Mr. Mitchell, late of Eastcot, near Pinner, aged 72. s et' MILLAR. —On the 4 th inst., Mr. John Millar, of O' stock-hill, aged O. re d' RUNDLE.—At the residence of his son-in-law, Han3lo,;- heath, John Rundle, Esq., for nine years M.P. for Jl‘ stock, aged 72. . d° SLADE.—On the 3d inst., at Poole, Dorset, Robert SIS Esq., J.P., aged 68. WeiroLE —On the 4th inst., Major-General Job* g i ll' p , ,1-, Royal Engineers, son of the late lion. Robert pole, aged 67. - - London: Primed and Publisheci by WILLIAM ANDO c%; of O. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office Strand, in th , s. _Precinct of the 3av: , v. in the CoO j ` —Thursday, January . 7, 1861. THE LATE MR, THACKERAY, ARTESIAN WELL AT DONCASTER.—The boring having penetrated into a fissure, water in great volume has been obtained. The present yiell is estimated by Mr. Dale, the engineer, 9,t four taillion gallong a day. A very interesting sketch of Mr. Thackeray, from the pen of Mr. James Hannay, the well known writer, has appeared in the Edinburgh Courant. The following are a few extracts By birth Mr. Thackeray belonged to the upper middle class—a section of our curiously divided society which con tains many cadets of old families, and forms a link between the aristocracy and the general bulk of the liberal profes sions. He used sometimes to say that " it takes three gene rations to make a gentleman," and though this was not a rpssitt which he would have applied strictly in the case of another man, he was far from insensible to the advantage in himself. He was descended from an old Saxon stock long settled inYorkshire. His great-grandfather was Dr. Thacke ray, of Harrow, who went to Cambridge in 1710, an ex3el - scholar and clever man, who partly educated Sir Wm. Jones, and when epitaph was written by his pupil Dr. Parr. The son of the doctor married a Miss Webb, of the old Eng lish family to which the Brigadier Webb, of Marlborough's wars, belonged—whose portrait is drawn with something of the geniality of kinsmanvhip in "Esmond." This Thacke ray, we believe, was the first of the race to settle in India, where his son also sought his fortunes, and where his grand son the novelist was born, at Calcutta, in 1811. There are numerous descendants of the scholarly old headmaster of Harrow scattered over the English Church and in the Indian service, and traces of the influence of family con nections are found all through the books of the man who has made his name famous. Like other English children born in India, young Thackeray was sent home early, and the voyage—during which he had an ea ger and wondering peep at the great Napoleon in his island prison—was among his earliest re collections. He received his education at Charterhouse-- the well-known Greyfriars of his stories—an ancient and famous public school. From Charterhouse he went to Cambridge, which he left without taking a degree; and he entered on life with health, strength, a noble figure, an excellent genius, and £20,000, the last of which blessings was the first (owing, it is said, to unfortunate speculations) to leave him. But this loss was not complete till he had hal the full benefit of a good culture and a good experience. He travelled over Europe, and resided in its capitals, w hile his mind was young and fresh ; and laid in those stores of observation to which we owe sketches with which everybody is familiar, He had an interview with Goethe at Weimar, his description of which may be seen in the " Life of Goethe" by Mr. Lewes ; and he studied art at Rome. If he had had his choice, he would rather have been famous as an artist than as a writer ; but it was destined that he should paint in colours which will never crack and never need restora tion. All his artist experience did him just as much good in literature as it could have in any other way; and in travel ling through Europe to see pictures, he learned not them only, but men, manners, and languages, He read German ; he knew French well, and spoke it elegantly ; and in market places, salons, hotels, museums, studios, the sketch-book of his mind was always filling itself. Paris was one of his most important headquarters in every way, and to his stay there the world owes perhaps the best of his poems—the " Chro nicle of the Drum." Thackeray was still young and opulent when he began to make the acquaintance of London men of letters. Certain it is that he lent—or in plainer English, gave—£.soo to poor old Maginn, when he was beaten in the battle of life, and like other beaten soldiers made a prisoner—in the Fleet. With the generation going out—that of Lamb and Cole ridge--he had, we believe, no personal acquaintance. Sydney Smith he met at a later time ; and remembered with satis faction that something which ho wrote about Hood gave pleasure to that delicate humourist and poet in his last days. But his first friends were the Fraserians, of whom Father Prout—always his intimate—and Carlyle, always one of his most appreciating fri en ds—survive. From reminis cences of the wilder lights in the Fraser constel lation were drawn the pictures of the queer fellows connected with literature in " Pendennis," Cap tain Shandon, the ferocious Bludyer—stout old Tom Sergeant—and so forth. Magazines in those days were more brilliant than they are now, when they are haunted by the fear of shocking the Fogy element in their circulation ; and the effect of their greater freedom is seen in the buoyant, riant, and unrestrained comedy of Thackeray's own earlier Fraser articles. "I suppose we will begin by being too savage," is the phrase of a letter wh:ch he wrote in 1819 ; "I know one who did." He was alluding here to the "Yellow plush papers" in particular, where living men were freely handled. This old, wild satiric spirit it was which made him interrupt even the earlier chapters of " Vanity Fair," by introducing a parody, which he could not resist, of some contemporary novelists. In the last 15 years of his life, he wrote under greater restraint, and with a sense of his graver responsibilities as one of the leading men of letters of the country. But his satire was never at any time malig nant; and the fine freedom of his early writing, developed his genius, as the scenes of the arena developed the athlete, He was writing tor 12 or 13 years, as a professional author, before "Vanity Fair" made him really known to the world at large. The best works of that epoch will be found in the "Miscellanies" published by Bradbury and Evans in 1857. But there is much of his writing buried in periodicals, some of which have been long dead. He was connected with at least one failure. ThePartheeon--an ill-omened name,borne after along interval by another journal quite recently defunct. lie certainly contributed some things to the rates, during Barnes's editorship—an article on Fielding amongst them; though not, we should think, leading articles, a kind of work for which he had no relish, and for which he believed himself to have no turn. Fraser was the organ with which he was most successfully connected till the days of his Fund. engagement. It was, indeed, as a magazinist that he educated himself for a novelist. The offer of " Vanity Fair" was declined by one publisher ; and good judges said that a necessary impulse was given to its appreciation by an article during its progress in the Edinburgh Review. 'When Thackeray wrote " Vanity Fair," in 1819-7-8, he was living in Young-street, Kensington ; and here, in 1848, the author of this sketch had first the pleasure of seeing him, of being received at his table, and of knowing how ea sentially a kind, humane, and p erfectly honest man he was, " Vanity Fair" was then unfinished, but its success was made, and he spoke frankly and genially of his work and his career. " Vanity Fair" always, we think, ranked in his own mind as best in story of his greater books ; end he once pointed out to us the very house in Russell-square where his imaginary Sedleya lived—a curious proof of the reality his creations had for his mind. The man and the books were equally real and true, and it was natural that he should speak without hesitation of his books, if you wished it; though, as a man of the world and a polished gentleman who knew the world thoroughly, litera ture to him only took its turn among other topics. From this point of view, his relation to it was a good deal like that of Scott. According to Lockhart, people were wrong in saying that Sir Walter declined at all markedly to talk about literature, and yet his main interest was in active life. Just so, Thackeray was not bookish, and yet turned readily to the subject of books, if invited. His reading was un doubtedly large in memoirs, modern history, biography, poetry, essays, and fiction—and, taken in conjunction with his scholarship, probably placed him, as a man of letters, above any other novelist except Sir Buiwer Lytton. Here is a characteristic fragment from one of his letters written in August, 1854, and now before us :—" I hate Juvenal," he says ; " I mean I think you a truculent brute, and 1 love Horace better than you de, and rate Churchill much lower; and as for Swift, you haven't made me alter my opinion. I admire, or rather admit, his power as much as you do ; but I don't admire that kind of power as much as I did 15 years ago, or 20 shall we say. Love is a higher intellectual exercise than hatred ; and, when you gat one or two more of those young ones you write so pleasantly about, you'll come over to the side of the kind wags, I think, rather than the cruel ones." Passages like this—which men who knew him, will not need to have quoted to them—have a double value for the world at large. They not only show a familiar com mand of whom it is by no means easy to know well, — but they show what the real philosophy was of a man whom 'the envious represented to the ignorant a s a cic and a scoffer. Why, his favourite authors were just those whose influence he thought had been beneficial to the cause of v i r tue and charity. " 1 take off my hat to Joseph Addison," he wogld say, after an energetic testimony to his good effect on English life. Ho was, in fact, even greater as a moralist th a n as a mere describer of manner; and h is very hatred of quac k er y and meanness was proved to be real by his.siplicity, humanity, and kindliness of character. In private, this great satirist, whose aspect in a crowd was often one of austere politeness and reserve, unbent into a familiar naivete which somehow one seldom finds in the demonstratively genial. And this was the more charming and precious that it rested on a basis of severe and profound reflection, before the glance of which all that was dark and serious in man's li o and prospects lay open. The grav it y of that white head, with its noble brow, and thoughtful face full of feel ing and meaning, enhanced the piquancy of his playfulness, and of the little personal revelations which came with such a grace from the depths of his kindly nature. When we congratulated him, many years ago, on the touch in " Vanity Fair," in which Becky "admires" her husband when ho is giving Lord Steyno the ,chastisement which ruins her for life, " Well," he said, " when I wrote the sen t e nce, I slapped my fist on the table, and said that ie a touch of genius l' " The incident is a trifle, but it will reveal, we suspect, an element of fervour, as well as a heartiness of frankness in recarding, the fervour, both equally at variance with the vulgar conception of him. This frankness and bonhononie made him delightful in a tete-a-tete, and gave a pleasant human flavour to talk full of sense, and wisdom, and experience, and lighted up by the gaiety of the true London man of the world. Though he said witty things now and then, he was not a wit in the sense in which Jerrold was, and he complained, sometimes, that hie best things occurred to him after the occasion was gone by. After " Vanity Fair," Thackeray's fame steadily in weasel. "Pendennis" appeared during 1849 and 1830, and though it was generally considered inferior in mere plot to its predecessor, no inferiority was perceived in the essential qualities of character, thought, humour, and style. The announcement in the summer of 1851 that he v. as about to lecture on the English Humourists gave a thrill of plea sure to intellectual L - ,ndon ; and when he rose in Willis's Rooms to commence the course with Swiit, all that was most brilliant in the capital was assembled to hear him, SPIRIT OF LEWES, Wednesday Night At the quarter sessions, this day before the Earl of Ch cheater and a full bench of magistrates, the matter of the prizefighters committed by the bench of magistrates at Mark Cross, for taking part in the recent fight at Wadhurst, again came before the Court, the bench of magistrates here having deferred giving judgment upon an application made yester day by Mr. Edward Besley. The defendants were in attendance, and it may be advis able to give their names : '1 homes King, John Carmel Heenan, Thos. sayers, John Tyler alias Bos Tyler, John Calvin Noon alias Jerry Neon, John Macdonald, James Mace, and Robert Travers, were called upon to answer an indictment for " riotously assem bling, together with divers other persone, to the number o 500 and more, to disturb the public peace, and riotously as saulting and beating the said Thomas King and John Came Heenan at Wadhurst, on the 10th Dec., 1863. Mr. Roupell and Mr. Willoughby, instructed by Messrs Stone, Wall, and Simpson, clerks to the Rotherfield bench of magistrates, conducted the prosecution. Mr. Edward Besley, instructed by Mr. J. G. Langham, of Ucklefield, de fended Thomas King, John Calvin Noon alias Jerry Noon, James Mace, and John Tyler. Mr. Besley begged leave, before the defendants were called upon to surrender, to renew the application he bad made to the bench on the previous evening. That application had been for a postponement of the trial of those defendants for whom he appeared, and his lordship and the bench had de ferred dealing with it, in consequence of the absence of some of the other defendants. He (Mr. Besley) understood that those parties were now present before the bench, and were able, therefore, to answer for themselves. He did not know that it was necessary for him to repeat anything that he said on the previous day, but would press upon the atten tion of the bench the fact of the depositions having been signed at such a recent date, and the prosecution being at the instance of one of the magistrates of the county of Suasex, The depositions had bean taken on the 22d of Dec , and he (Mr. Besley) thought he ought to put the bench ih posss sion of the fact that from that time up to almost the last moment, indeed up to Monday afternoon, the parties were all represented by the same solicitor, Mr. Thomas Beard, of Basinghall-street, London; but owing to some disagreement amongst the defendants themselves, as to the mode of ar rangement of the issue of this writ of certiorari, that gen tleman no longer represented Mr. King, and the other de fendants, who had since they had been in Lewes em ployed Mr. Langham, a solicitor at Uckfield, who now re presented them, and had instructed him (Mr. Besley). The noble Chairman—Who do you appear for, Mr. Besley, because at present the bench do not hear of any one except the defendant King ? Mr. Besley—l appear, my lord, for Thomas King, Jas. Mace, John Calvin Noon, and John Tyler. He (Mr. Bes ley) felt sure that his lordship and the bench would forgive him for saying, that men situated as the defendants were might well object to tieing tried in the county of Sus sex., especially when they knew that the prosecution had been instituted by one of the magistrates on the very bench that would have to try them, and who was himself a prin cipal witness against them. He (Mr. Besley) thought that that might well account for the application to Mr. Justice Shee for the removal of the place of trialt and those who art around him, would rather prefer such a course being taken, if they considered it consistent with their duty. The noble Chairman made a gesture of dissent. Mr. Besley continuing, observed that he did not know whether the writ of certiorari would:be granted, inasmuch as the recognisances had not been entered into, but Mr. Justice Shee had intimated that it would be granted upon the usual conditions. On his own behalf he (Mr. Besley) begged to urge on the bench that it was only on the pre vious day, late in the afternoon, that he had received his brief, and he felt that he should not be doing justice to the case by going into it at present. He, therefore, asked the magistrates to exercise the discretionary power vested in them, and postpone the trial till the next sessions. Beyond that which he had already stated he would press upon their attention the difficulty he felt in taking up such an imper taut case, and he really bad not had the necessary time to examine thoroughly the form of the indictment or the legal effect it might have upon his clients. lie therefore respect fully asked for a postponement. Mr. Roupell hardly thought it necessary to say anything, but felt bound to notice that the grounds upon which the application for a postponement had been based on the pre vious evening were essentially different from those just urged on personal grounds, which he (Mr. Roupell) would of course at once have acceded to; but his learned friend had put forward, as a new reason, that a fair trial could not, or had inferred that it could not, be had in the county of Sus sex, and yet asked for a postponement to a time when it would come before identically the same tribunal. With re gard to the writ of certiorari the bench knew nothing of it, as though it had been so reported in the newspapers, those reports could not always be taken as exactly correct. If it had been desired tc remove the trial the writ could have been completed and served upon the Court, who could have dealt with it. As to his learned friend having been so re cently instructed, that fault lay with the defendants' attor ney, who neglected his duty, or with defendants themselves, who did not urge the matter on. The prosecution ought not to be put to additional expense; nevertheless if the applica tion rested on the fact that the parties were not prepared to go on with the trial, he felt, on the part of the prosecution, that he could hardly resist the application. The noble Chairman observed that the bench wished to know whether those defendants who were not professionally represented agreed in the request preferred by Mr. Besley on behalf of the others. A. consultation then took place between Mr. Charles Bush, Mr. Coney, Heenan, Sayers, and the others, which resulted Mr. Bosley informing the noble earl that all the defen dants agreed in the application for a postponement. After conferring with the other magistrates, The Earl of Chichester said—As it appears all the defen dants concur, the Court feel that that being the case, they are justified in postponing the trial. For myself, I confess I do not think the grounds are very strong ; but if they all concur, we will grant it. Of course the parties must renew the same recognisances. The required bail having been renewed, the defendants left the Court, Heenan and Macdonald returning to London immediately,Tom Sayers betaking himself to Brighton,Tom King remaining to indulge in a constitutional over the downs, the invigorating air of which he had so much reason to be grateful for in his recent contest. The crowd that thronged the court quickly dispersed when the heroes of the hour had vanished, and Lewes was left to its wonted quie tude. LIIDGA.TEBILL.—A suggestion has been made in the Builder for raising the whole line of street in the valley of the Fleet from Blackfriars-bridge. The gradients of Ludgate-hill and Fleet-street would be thus improved, and it might be then practicable to carry the much-deprecated rail gay under, instead of over, the main approach to St. TIMES —ln the earlier period of the American war the Federal land forces received very effective support from the gunboats on the rivers. More than once the flotilla that accompanied the march of the troops proved of essential service. The cap ture of New Orleans and a full share of the other successes of the Northern Generals on the Missis sippi were due to the co-operation of naval officers. Bat of the later incidents of the war the Federal fleet, though immensely increased in number, has not borne so prominent a part. The blockade of the Southern coast has been kept up strictly enough to cripple the export trade of the Confederacy, if not to close its harbours totally against contraband enterprise. But of the combined operations of the siege of Charleston the navy failed in the part as signed to it, and how complete the failure has been the American public has only just discovered. The truth has long been suspected from the inaction of the fleet of ironclads throughout the summer and autumn. It was, of course, folly known to the heads of the Navy Department, but the Govern ment would not avow it, preferring to impute the defeat of the Monitors by the land batteries against which they were sent to Admiral Dupont. He was recalled for not having succeeded, and insinuations against his professional skill or capacity were re peated in the recent Report of the Secretary of the Navy appended to President Lincoln's Message to Congress. The admiral and the officers under his command naturally resent the implied censure, and appeal to the official returns of the condition of the whole fleet after the engagement to prove that any repetition of the attack must have resulted in its total destruction. We have no interest whatever in the dispute between Mr. Welles and the Admiral, but very much in the question it involves as to the power of land batteries to resist the attack of iron ships. The first great experiment may not be decisive, for we know that the American Moni tors were not the best possible vessels of the kind. But it is the decided opinion of the officers engaged that these irou:oased ships had no chance against the concentrated firs of rifled artil lery. From the first few minutes after the Monitors came within range of batteries the result was evi dent. The ships could neither sustain the fire to which they were exposed, nor return it with any effect. The repulse was a severe disappointment, for the Northern people had been assured, and were very ready to believe, that the iron fleet was invin cible. The attack was made on the 7th April last, and within a few days afterwards the return of the damage sustained must have been in the hands of the Secretary. But the facts were too discouraging to be published. The truth was suppressed, and the public assured that, with a few repairs, the fleet would be in a condition to pass all the batteries and steam "up to the wharves of Charleston." The Monitors were not withdrawn, as it would have been an admission of the defeat. They have re mained in Charleston Thly, useless for all the opera tions of the siege, which has been carried on ever since the spring by the military engineers and the troops. The snore batteries they have constructed have demolished the external works of Fort Sumter, bat this has not brought the assailing forces any nearer the city. The failure of the Monitors was, in fact, the failure of the biego. Of all the depart mente of the Federal Government, the administra tion of the navy is at present the most unpopular. But we do not see why Mr. Welles should be blamed for the miscarriage of the ironclads. The whole fleet was only an experiment. The ships were has tily constructed, but on the model of a vessel that had done good service. It was impossible to cal culate the power of the guns the Southerners were placing in the forts. These have proved heavier and of longer range than the Federal shipbuilders anticipated. And it appears from the reports that several ironclads manceuvring toge ther create difficulties not perceived in handling a single ship. All the defects were discovered in the two hours of trial. Unfortunately, they were hours of battle, and what under other circumstances would have been only the failure of an experiment turned out a naval disaster. In BOOM of the details the particulars of the damage sustained in the action are instructive. We discover the weak points of the invulnerable. They appear to be the " turrets" and the " port stoppers." A single unlucky shot, even if not heavy enough to crush the iron armour, may indent the metal on which the turret revolves, and stop its working. The ship is at once disabled, On board several of the Monitors the turret thus " be came jammed" and immovaiele. The " port stop pers" were also frequently haenmered tight by a shot, and could not be opened. A ball need not pierce or smash everything in its way to inflict what may be called a mortal wound on an iroeclad; a comparative scratch " will do" if it reduces the re volving t urret to a fixture, or shuts its gun inaide. Cnherwise the Monitors have greet powers of endu rance. Some of them received 30 and 40 shots in the hull without material injury, though one blow on the turret may disable the ship as a combatant. Another defect discovered was that these monsters are purblind. The captain of the Patapsco found " the want of vision one of the most serious defects of this class, making it impossible to fight them advantageously, to avoid danger, or to make a 'satis factory reconnatssance." In different terms, other officers make the same complaint , A good look out is difficult. On board one Monitor the bell-wires tb at communicated with the signal in the engine room were cut by a shot, and no orders could be sent below. It does not appear that the heaviest hits do the most serious damage, for there are portions of the &tinge that cannot be protected, and if these are touched the ship is practically useless. But in all uses the safety of the crew is nearly complete. The loss of life in the engagement was very trifling. Some of the captains conclude the account of their da mages by a few general inferences on the efficiency of the class of vessel they had fought under such novel conditions. The commander of the Montauk says, " After testing the weight of the enemy's fire, I believe that Charleston cannot be taken by the naval force now present, and that had the attack been continued, it must have resulted in disaster." Another captain thinks that Monitors carrying a 15-inch gun cannot attack batteries mounted with heavy ordnance. The ships must come within a range that would be fatal to them, Capt. Fairfax "is convinced that although this class of vessel can stand a very heavy fire, yet the want of more guns will render them comparatively harmless before formidable earthworks and fortE." He is " dis appointed beyond measure" at the result of this experiment with the Monitors, but admits " it was a fair trial." It is evident the new fleet of iron .cads will do little more in the siege of Charleston. POST.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a ready, eloquent, and effective speaker on almost any subject that comes before him. By none of our great statesmen, Lord Palmerston excepted, has that best gitt of oratcry which consists in the adaptation of the speech to the audience been so remarkably developed as by Mr. Gladstone. In a country reading-room, as in the Imperial Parliament, be carries his hearers along with him, fascinated and spell-bound even when they are not convinced. The earnestness of the man supplements the skill of the rhetorician, and in the rush of words that dazzle the senses there is a deep under current of thought which penetrates to the understanding and asserts an irresistible mastery over the mind. Mr. Glad stone is one of the greatest orators of the day , and, happily, he is also one of the truest and most dis cerning of philanthropists. There is no clap-trap in his "extra-parliamentary utterances;" nor does he when he speaks to the labouring classes preach discontent, or propagate agrarian theories, as is the manner of some. He does not say one thing is the House of Commons and another thing in Flintshire, and that which he says every where is practical and to the point, and it is said heartily, kindly, and evidently with a desire to do good. At Buckley, where he inaugurated a working man's reading-room on Monday last, Mr. Gladstone delivered an address which can be read with profit in every similar institution throughout the kingdom, any by all of the class to whom it was especially spoken. It was exactly one of those plain, un adorned, yet always eloquent speeches which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has the happy power of making acceptable and agreeable. There was no cant in it. It was not the speech of a Pharisee, but of a man of the world. Mr. Gladstone did not run down the publichouses ; but on the contrary, ad mitted that they had their uses, and that stimulants taken in moderation were of the necessaries of life to those who worked hard as he himself did. Nor did he recommend reading-rooms as resorts in which all the leisure hours of the working man were to be spent; but, in pointing out that they offered faci lities for mental instruction which the men of this class could not be expected to obtain at their own homes, he took care to have it understood that home duties were of primary importance. In short, be took that view of the miesion, if we may so call it , which he was advocating, that if taken more gene rally would, we are persuaded, tend to bring work ing men to a better appreciation of the benefits of literary instruction than they appear now to pos seas. It is too much the fashion to speak of these reading-rooms as if they were adult schools or places of rel axation conducted on the " total absti nence principle." There is nothing human in the manner in which they are commonly supported, and the chairs and tables and second hand-news papers are all redolent of charity and direction. They are not places in which the working man can take his ease as he can at a pubtichouse ; and t hough they seldom strive after it in the right way , there is nothing working men like better than ease and independence. And it was to this feeling that Mr. Gladstone principally addressed himself. aking for his text-word economy, h o show,d, as Pcmlab 3 iN 91 US cogently, that the working men had FRRE riaoP TII - E. chaser 7 . T a l CITY My ThYsel BRAT Pres e , and .v.7n ; went If. the v hav e kfin% duty sl (ITirr Spi e New LOb WE! IVEA toUt Roth pleu a r , To P( Alfr Pat( Bon Pan FIN yew RIB 1 1 0 V He 111